Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
| romaji = Yūgiō Zearu | other = | genre = }} TV Tokyo, BS Japantv-tokyo.co.jp onair | network other = * Toonzai on CW4Kids (Episodes 1-25) * Vortexx (Episodes 26-113) * Nicktoons * GO! * YTV * Teletoon * K2 (from June 9, 2012) * Indosiar, RCTI, Trans7, Spacetoon * Super 3 (from June 9, 2012) * RTL2, Nickelodeon * YEP TV!/ProSieben MAXX * Nickelodeon * Canal J * Gulli * SIC K * Cadena Tres Canal 28 * YOYO TV * Jojo * Televen * ETC...TV * ABS-CBN * ABS-CBN Sports+Action * Hero * RTÉ2 * Cartoon Network * Kix TV * Pop TV * Champ TV * MBC3 * Viasat 6 | first aired = April 11, 2011 | last aired = March 23, 2014 | num of episodes = 146 | ref = }} Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (pronounced /zeaɾɯ/ in Japanese, mimicking the English word "zeal"; pronounced /ˈzek.səl/ "ZECK-sul" in English) is a Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and manga series and the successor to the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series. It was followed by Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V on April 6, 2014. The anime first aired on April 11, 2011 in popular evening slots in Japan on TV Tokyo.animenewsnetwork.com News: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Anime, Manga Revealed It introduces the Xyz Summon mechanic and Xyz Monsters. It also starts the use of the Series 7 card layout replacing the Series 3 layout used in later episodes of [[Yu-Gi-Oh! (anime)|''Yu-Gi-Oh!]], and the majority of episodes of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Starting with the show's fourth arc, the show was advertised under the name Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL II (pronounced zay-al zeɪal sekando in Japanese, pronounced zek-sul second in English), but both NAS and TV Tokyo classify it as the same show, with the episode numbers continuing from where it was left off instead of returning to the start. On July 11, 2014, it was announced that new episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL would premiere on yugioh.com each week up until the conclusion of Season 3. As of February 22, 2015, all episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL (146 total) have been dubbed into English. Summary ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL'' In a city in the near future, Heartland City After the events of the 5D's Series, kids and adults enjoy Augmented Reality Duels. Augmented Reality Duels are Duels that use Duel Gazers and D-Pads, which when the two are used together, whether on the ground or in the sky, cause monsters to erupt from buildings and fight each other. The hero is Yuma Tsukumo. At a beginner level, he's a champion at absolutely losing. Due to a chain of events, Yuma ends up challenging the number one delinquent at his school, Reginald. His destiny is changed by a bizarre door he's seen in his dreams. When Yuma unlocks this sealed door, countless lights fly from it and escape. And when Yuma comes to, he sees the mysterious entity, Astral, who came from a parallel universe, standing before him. In order to regain Astral's lost memories, the flying lights from the door that have turned into the 99 "Numbers" cards, these two must work together. A series of mysterious and powerful rivals begin to appear before Yuma and Astral including a young boy named Kite Tenjo, revenge-seeking Vetrix and the maniacal Dr. Faker. ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL II'' Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL II takes place after the first season, starting with the episode "Attack of the Barians: Part 1". The curtain falls on the World Duel Carnival, peace has finally returned to Heartland City. But now, emissaries from the Barian World, hostile to the Astral World, are aiming to steal the "Numbers" and Astral for themselves. In order to protect him, Yuma, Kite and Shark join together to combat the Barian menace, as they ultimately become involved in the Interdimensional War of two worlds. When the memories of Shark's past life, Nash, are awakened, he decides to lead the Barians against Astral World. With Nash restored to the throne and Earth fusing with the Barian World, the Seven Barian Emperors decide to invade Earth for the final battle. When Yuma and Nash finally confront each other, their duel will end the Interdimensional War in the most unexpected way... Characters These characters appear in both the anime and manga * Yuma Tsukumo * Astral * Tori Meadows * Reginald Kastle * Kite Tenjo * Orbital 7 * Hart Tenjo * Bronk Stone * Caswell Francis * Cathy Katherine * Flip Turner * Kari Tsukumo * Haru Tsukumo * Mr. Heartland * Dr. Faker * Kazuma Tsukumo Anime Characters * Rio Kastle * Don Thousand * Dumon * Alito * Mizar * Girag * Vector Manga Characters * Cologne * Kyoji Yagumo * Luna * E'Rah Manga The Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL manga is written by Shin Yoshida, illustrated by Naoto Miyashi and published by Shueisha. Unlike Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL manga was released before the anime and follows the same story as the anime up until Rank 009. The series is set in the near future. Something unexpected happens as Ryoga Kamishiro challenges Yuma Tsukumo to a Duel. When the mysterious entity Astral appears before them a new legend begins.V Jump scan. Spin-off Yu-Gi-Oh! D Team ZEXAL is a spin-off of the series made by Akihiro Tomonaga with the cooperation of Wedge Holdings. This spin-off is non-canon to the anime and manga series, and focuses on humor. Just like in the anime and manga, the series is set in the near future. However, it has no relation to them. Here, Yuma already knows Astral since the beginning, and forms a Dueling Team with Kotori, Tetsuo and Takashi. Music Opening Themes Japanese opening theme 1: Masterpiece * Performer: Mihimaru GT * Episodes: 001-025, 146 Japanese opening theme 2: BRAVING! * Performer: KANAN * Episodes: 026-049 Japanese opening theme 3: Soul Drive * Performer: Color Bottle * Episodes: 050-073 Japanese opening theme 4: Unbreakable Heart * Performer: Takatori Hideaki * Episodes: 074-098 Japanese opening theme 5: Dual-ism of Mirrors * Performer: Petite Milady * Episodes: 099-123 Japanese opening theme 6: Wonder Wings * Performer: DIAMOND✡YUKAI * Episodes: 124-145 Ending Themes Japanese ending theme 1: My Quest * Performer: Golden Bomber * Episodes: 001-025 Japanese ending theme 2: Longing Freesia * Performer: DaizyStripper * Episodes: 026-049 Japanese ending theme 3: Wild Child * Performer: moumoon * Episodes: 050-073 Japanese ending theme 4: Artist * Performer: Vistlip * Episodes: 074-098 Japanese ending theme 5: GO WAY GO WAY * Performer: FoZZtone * Episodes: 099-123 Japanese ending theme 6: Challenge the GAME * Performer: REDMAN * Episodes: 124-145 English Themes English theme 1: Take a Chance English theme 2: Halfway to Forever (song) Soundtracks All soundtracks were released by Marvelous Entertainment. *''Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 1, was released on September 28, 2011. *Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 2, was released on September 19, 2012. *Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 3, was released on May 15, 2013. *Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 4, was released on November 13, 2013. *Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL Sound Duel 5, was released on November 19, 2014. Episodes DVD Development An encore screening of ''Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time on February 20, 2011 in Japan contained details on the production of Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL. The second 2011 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump included details of the screening a competition on how one hundred and ten readers can win passes to see it.animenewsnetwork.com New Yu-Gi-Oh! Series to Be Announced in February 4Kids confirmed that an English-language dub would premiere on October 15th, 2011 at 9:30 AM. Differences in adaptations * Some names are Americanized. * The names on the Duelist's picture are removed. * The Win Sound Effect is changed in the English dub. * Skirts and socks on female characters are lengthened to avoid any sexual implications. * Astral's lower body is blurred out to avoid references to nudity. * The backs of the cards have been edited to become the standard backing seen in the other series, with an exception in the first 8 episodes, when they re-aired, the backings are changed. In episode 26 and onward, the backing of the cards changed to how they appear in the World Duel Carnival arc, just like the Japanese version. * The scenes depicting Numbers users aging from "Photon Hand" is cut. Although this isn't the case when Kite takes Reginald Kastle's soul. * When an Overlay Unit is used, the sound effect has been replaced with a new one. * The Life Point sound effect is replaced with a different one than the original. * There are 3 seasons in the dub. * References to death or killing of characters are toned down, worded indirectly, or removed. Staff The following staff are credited. Trivia * Despite the fact it's implied the holograms are only viewable through D-Gazers, and therefore not actually there, characters have been thrown by explosions during the Duels not involving power from either Astral or Barian world. * ZEXAL is the first spin-off series where the main protagonist never has any in-person encounter with the main protagonist of its predecessor series throughout its canonical plotline. (In 5D's, Yusei and Jaden did meet in the movie Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time which follows 5D's canonical plotline, thus making ZEXAL the first season where the current main character does not interact personally with the main character of its predecessor series.) ** It is also the first where the new type of monster introduced (in this case, Xyz Monsters) does not have a Level (instead, they have a Rank). * ZEXAL is the first series to be completely dubbed since the original series. * This is the only post-''GX'' series to not feature Synchro Summoning. See also *[[Portal:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL|Portal:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL]] External links * tv-tokyo.co.jp Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL official site References ZEXAL, Yu-Gi-Oh! de:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL es:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL fr:Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL